My Love Goes Ever On
by Remember How I Used To Be
Summary: COMPLETED! Falling in love with your best friend is never a good thing to do, but when you're the shy Hyuuga Hinata things seem to be even worse. KankHina
1. The Bridge

**Summary: Falling in love with your best friend is never a good thing to do, but when you're Hyuuga Hinata things are even worse. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters.**

**Pairings: KanHina.**

Hinata sat listlessly on the edge of the bridge in the forest just outside of Konoha and stared at the rushing water below her feet. Her thoughts tumbled over each other like the water did over the rocks. She loved Kankuro. Deep inside of her she knew she should tell him, but how could she when it was obvious he did not share her feelings? How could she ruin their weak friendship by telling him of her affections? She wanted to tell him, but the civilian woman, Ami, that had attached herself to Kankuro made it impossible.

Hinata was almost hopeful when she'd seen the other woman sitting by herself looking almost sad. She'd asked Kankuro what was wrong with Ami and he'd told her he thought he'd broken her heart. He looked slightly regretful when he said that and it made Hinata's heart drop. She waited until he'd turned away from her before she headed for her spot on the bridge.

It was on the bridge's edge that she'd been sitting for almost thirty minutes. A splashing sound caught Hinata's attention. She looked down and saw Kankuro pushing his way up the river. He often went wading and she loved watching, but today he looked up at her and smiled. She smiled back and gave a small wave. He stood there, letting the water shove against his legs, noticing that she was sitting all alone again. Kankuro jumped up and latched onto the bridge's edge and worked his way out to her. He swung himself up beside her.

"You really shouldn't sit off by yourself. People might start to think you're emo like Sasuke," he told her.

Hinata smiled as she felt the familiar butterflies come alive in her stomach at the sight of his smile. She'd been friends with him since she was eight. Kankuro always made her smile. Yet every time she had caught up with him over the years he'd had a different girl attached to his arm. This latest girl was just the most painful to witness. Hinata knew now that this wasn't just a crush, this was something more. Maybe not love, but definitely stronger than any crush.

For several minutes the two just sat there in comfortable silence staring at the water. Kankuro stood up finally, "I'm going to go check on Ami." He waved to Hinata and ran off to talk to Ami.

Hinata watched him go with an aching heart. She snatched up her bag. She didn't want to watch him cuddling with another girl anymore, touch another girl, hug another girl, or kiss the other girl. Trees flashed as she raced home to her room where she through herself down on the bed. Her heart hurt so much she wanted to scream and cry.


	2. The Wish

**Summary: Falling in love with your best friend is never a good thing to do, but when you're Hyuuga Hinata things are even worse. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. **

**Pairings: KankHina.**

* * *

Hinata sat in front of the computer as she updated her NinjaSpace. She was bored beyond all belief. This explained why she was reading and posting random bulletins. The one she was reading currently seemed to be more interesting than most.

"_Type the first letter of every word in your wish, or your secret emotion. _

Example:  
Like "I wish I could get to know that girl at the rec center"  
I W I C G T K T G A T R C

Or "I want pudding"  
I W P

Repost your wish for the title  
Within 5 minutes and the wish will come true" 

She thought for a moment before reposting it with the title "I W K W R T I H H A M C O H F

S Y A H L M B."

A soft smile showed on Hinata's lips as she hit the post button. Maybe Kankuro would attempt to figure out what it meant. Maybe he would even guess. Part of Hinata didn't want Kankuro to ever find out for fear that she would lose him, but part of her wanted him to know and that maybe he had feelings for her as well.

With a sigh Hinata moved on to writing one of her many fanfictions. She had so many going and she was horrible about updating.

One of the many files saved in Hinata's folders popped up and she began to type away at it. It was a love songfic about a ninja, doomed to die, being sent on a mission and having to leave behind his civilian wife. It was a sad story, but it could happen.

After twenty minutes of writing, Hinata glanced back at her inbox. Sitting in the inbox was a PM from Kankuro. She smiled slightly as she glanced at the title of the message. It read "Re: I W K W R T I H H A M C O H F S Y A H L M B." With a click she had opened the message and started laughing at Kankuro's message.

"_I want ketchup wiggling rabbit terds in hot hammok meat covered over half faces soy yogurt and hair lint meat balls? _

What's your wish:D" 

Hinata smirked and pressed the reply button.

"_My wish is a secret, besides you'd never believe me if I told you. Keep guessing, it amuses me."_

With a smile she hit the reply button. She hoped he would still try to guess her wish though.

Her computer dinged as another message appeared in her inbox. Another click and the message opened.

"_I wish Kankuro'd welcome relief through ingenious half ham apple mustard. Cordially ordered here for sixteen years at hard labor making brownies?"_

Hinata sighed, her heart had stopped momentarily as she'd read the first three words. It restarted as she continued to read the rest of the guess. It was time to give him another message. She began typing in the reply box.

"_Nope, I think this one is the funniest so far. Either that or I'm just easily amused. Which is entirely likely. But it's all one sentence."_

A tap of the send button and the message was dashing off through the internet to Kankuro.

Hinata glanced over at Kankuro's profile picture. Her heart sank as she saw his online light was gone. Oh well, maybe he would come back on later. She continued typing away on her fanfiction.


	3. The Guesses

**Summary: Falling in love with your best friend is never a good thing to do, but when you're Hyuuga Hinata things seem to be even worse. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. **

**Pairings: KankHina.**

**A/N: Thanks to those who read and reviewed. I never did tell what "I W K W R T I H H A M C O H F S Y A H L M B." meant did I? It is "I wish Kankuro realize that I have had a major crush on him for several years and he liked me back." So now that's cleared up, on with the story! **

* * *

Hinata twisted her head sideways a bit, trying to decide if she liked her new profile picture. It had its merits, but she didn't think it looked very good. This was what happened when Hinata got bored; she actually went crawling through her room to find random bits of clothing to wear and then took pictures of herself in them. 

A ding broke into her thoughts and she glanced at her inbox. There sat another message form Kankuro. Hinata shivered with excitement. She loved getting messages from Kankuro. The new message read:

"_I wish Kiba wore really tight indian hats, hectorially accented masked confettie, or "Hello Fieffle" sneakers yelling "AHHHHH! HAIRBALL!" _

Am I close? Can I get a hint?

By the by, I like your new picture, it's very good. :)" 

The Hyuuga heiress started giggling. Kankuro seemed to have that effect on her quite frequently.

"_Hairballs, eh? Whatever... BTW: It's not about Kiba._

_You want a hint. Oh, trying to take away my amusement? All right. I'll give you the word beginning with vowels and the first two words. "I WISH k w r t I h h A m c ON h f s y AND h l m b." The full words are capitalized. _

_Thanks, I discovered a few new things to do with random pieces of clothing around my room."_

At least as long as Kankuro didn't guess Hinata's wish they could grow their friendship. The thought made Hinata smile as she hit the Send button.

"Hey, Hinata!" Neji poked his head into his cousin's room. "Shino and Kiba are waiting for you. You guys have a mission today, remember?"

Hinata sighed and picked up her pack. "Yes, Neji, I did remember." She cast one longing look back at her computer before heading off with her teammates to begin their mission.

**Four Hours Later**

A very cross Hinata slammed the door to her bedroom and through her pack across the room. The mission had not gone well as far as Hinata was concerned. The mission had involved escorting a feudal lord from Konoha to another village just outside of the Land of Fire. Apparently this guy had a lot of people who wouldn't mind having him dead. Sure, the mission had been completed successfully, but it had taken both Shino and Kiba to keep Hinata from killing the infuriating man herself.

Hinata flopped angrily down in her computer chair and jabbed her password out on the keyboard. Her computer whirred to life. The Hyuuga girl drummed her fingers impatiently on the desk. After what seemed eternity her background appeared. The machine dinged as it alerted her to a new message on her NinjaSpace. A new reply from Kankuro was sitting in her message box just waiting for her to read it. Just the thought of talking to Kankuro made Hinata much calmer. He was someone she loved to talk to. She opened his message.

"_Right well...that totally doesn't help me a whole lot._

_HEY! I have an idea! You should make it like a crypto quip and then give it to me to solve! It'll be fun:D"_

Hinata stared blankly at the message. What the heck was a crypto quip? She had no idea. She typed out her new message.

"_What is a crypto quip?"_

She sent it off to Kankuro and waited for a few minutes. Maybe she should have just looked the stupid thing up. With a sigh Hinata opened another browser window and googled "crypto quip." The first result in the long list was for free online playing. Hinata clicked on it. She studied the thing for a moment and then she realized what a crypto quip was. She had done these a long time ago.

The computer dinged as Kankuro's reply showed up.

"_Ahhh, read a newspaper once in awhile eh? It's like a phrase or sentence where all the letters are messed up. Here's an example:_

_KPWWT FKPQP KNES_

_Say, W L and K H. Work the rest out and you get_

_HELLO THERE HINA_

_See? I've been stealing them out of the newspapers at Gaara's office and doing them lately, I'm getting really good:D"_

Hinata smiled and shook her head at Kankuro's newest form of amusement. He always had odd ways to enjoy himself. The young woman formulated her reply.

"_Thanks. Right after I sent the message I found a website with cryptoquips. Haven't gotten one yet. Lol! Okay..._

_XRSN ALV QCSNJ VB LJ TA KCWX?_

_NE XH_

_Have fun."_

As soon as the message had been sent Hinata went off on her own to try and solve the online crypto quips. Her concentration was interrupted almost an hour later by the dinging sound that signaled a new message.

Kankuro wrote a very short note.

"_Oooohhmmm...attempts to solve_

_Short ones are hard, because you don't have alot to go off of. Mmmm..."_

Hinata shot a glare at the quip she was attempting to solve at that particular moment before she replied.

"_Lol! I have trouble with long ones."_

She sent it off and returned to fighting with her own quip. Only a few minutes later another one of Kankuro's messages interrupted her.

"_Have you given up on my wish? No, I have not. I still want to know. :)"_

Hinata gave a small smirk, she wasn't going to tell Kankuro anything just yet. Make him wait, she decided.

"_Lol. Can you give me a cryptoquip please?"_

She sent that one off and once again returned to beating her brains out over her quip. Again the little ding interrupted her, but Hinata was just as glad. She opened up Kankuro's message.

"_KV OGS RSYKDOQ SV VIKDMUR TDTXDIR IWYD, OCD GKMMDI GSNEU NMUSNXODUEQ XD OCD FNKYJDI FNWJDI. _

V F

That's a quip from the newspaper. I did that one yesterday. :)

ANYWAYS, hey, your wish! Might I nuzzle another hint out of you:D" 

For whatever reason the word nuzzle made Hinata smile and start thinking about some very interesting images of Kankuro actually trying to nuzzle a hint out of her. A small giggle escaped her lips and she clapped her hands quickly over her mouth.

"Are you okay?" Hanabi had poked her head in. "I heard you squeek and . . ."

Hinata just waved her younger sister out of the room and turned to write a reply to Kankuro.

"_I actually got an online one! Yay! Ok, now for yours..._

_i wish K W R that i H H a M C on H for six Y and H L me B._

_All complete words are in lower case."_

She hoped this wouldn't make anything too obvious as she sent it off.

Less than five minutes later Hinata opened Kankuro's reply. Her heart sank and the familiar aching she'd felt while Kankuro had been with Ami returned.

"_And suddenly I think I know what it means...yet somehow, I suddenly also think it best if I don't know whether or not I'm right..._

_Hey, I've been making some new stuff lately, I should totally show you some pics of me with my new puppet! I'm like Saosori. cough not really, but still:D"_

Hinata was almost positive Kankuro had guessed what she had written. She was so scared to lose him for good. For several minutes Hinata just sat there trying to think of what to say. Slowly Hinata's fingers assumed their own lives and began to type.

"_...then don't ask me anymore about it..._

_Yeah, you should absolutely show me some pics. _

_Just so you know, it may be a while before I finish the quip. Lol, my brain just went kaput."_

Hinata took a deep breath and sent her reply to Kankuro.

"_Then ask you no more I shall! (make sense?)_

_I'll have to take some pics tomorrow if I get the chance. Maybe I'll bring my camera when I go help Temari unpack, dunno. That might work. Anywho, I must head to bed now. I have a mission tomorrow morning and whatnot. And Gaara still wants to see what my new puppet looks like! Too much to do! --_

_Anyhow, g'night Hina, I shall talk to thee during the morrow:D_

_Kankuro"_

Hinata just gave a weak smile as she sent her short reply to him. With a sigh the torn girl logged off. Maybe Kankuro would just forget about her wish. Hinata hoped so.

The computer fell silent as it was turned off. The only sounds in the whole compound were the frogs and crickets in the garden outside Hinata's window. The Hyuuga heiress drifted off to sleep, praying that Kankuro would still be there for her the next day.


	4. The Journal

**Summary: Falling in love with your best friend is never a good thing to do, but when you're Hyuuga Hinata things seem to be even worse.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. **

**Pairings: KankHina.**

**A/N: For those of you who don't read author notes (and you pry aren't one of the few reading this) or are new to my story, "I W K W R T I H H A M C O H F S Y A H L M B." means "I wish Kankuro realize that I have had a major crush on him for several years and he liked me back." Just making sure everyone has gotten the memo. Thanks to everyone who has been so kind to read and review my story!**

* * *

Hinata wanted to cry as she stared at the empty inbox. For three days Kankuro hadn't returned a single message that she'd sent. He wasn't on a mission; Hinata knew that for a fact. Temari had told her so just that morning when Temari had called asking for Neji. Maybe she'd truly scared him away with her stupid feelings.

The computer was switched off. Lying, nearly forgotten, on Hinata's desk was a tattered notebook. The notebook contained everything Hinata felt as she went through the days. Hinata sat down at the desk and began reading through all of her old diary entries to her "best friend."

_"Dear Kaede,_

_Kankuro was being such a dork yesterday. He stole Gaara's eyeliner (Yes, after he lost Shukaku he started wearing eyeliner.) and had Ami put it on in place of his normal face paint. He looked kind of creepy. His hair was all black and he was wearing all black. Plus Ami had some black lipstick for whatever reason and put some on Kankuro. In combination with the aforementioned items he was kind of scary looking. He was really nice to me though. It made me smile, but I did something stupid in front of him and I'm afraid that he might think less of me for it. I don't want to seem so terrible in front of him, but I just slipped up."_

_"Dear Kaede,_

_I miss Kankuro. We've only been apart for a couple of days and I miss him so much! I wish I could have spent more time with him, just talking, but Ami was always attached to him so it was impossible. He said he might be coming back to Konoha in October for the festival. I get to help plan it! Isn't that exciting. I want everything to be perfect for when Kankuro comes. The festival has been planned out for months now, but the deadline is coming up so fast I'm worried we won't be ready in time. Even if the festival is horrible at least I will get to see Kankuro. There's a bonus. :D I should pry go. I'm tired. Good night!"_

Hinata figured she had at least five more entries that talked strictly about Kankuro in loving detail. Yes, she was a bit obsessed with him, but she'd liked him since the first time they met and he'd never paid much attention to her until now. This had been her only chance and she'd failed miserably at it. Hinata picked up her pen and began to write more in her journal.

**One Hour Later**

"Hina!" Hanabi came skidded into Hinata's door. "Ouch," she muttered as she opened the offending door. "Sakura is waiting for you downstairs. You two were going shopping today, remember?"

Hinata glanced up. "Oh yeah!" She snatched up her purse and headed out to find her pink haired friend, leaving her journal on the desk once again.


	5. The Weekend of Truth Begins

**Summary: Falling in love with your best friend is never a good thing to do, but when you're Hyuuga Hinata things seem to be even worse.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. **

**Pairings: KankHina.**

**A/N: I got a comment about Kankuro thinking the wish might be about Kiba, to clear this up please go back and read Hinata's reply to Kankuro towards the beginning of chapter three. I kind of thought about that while I was writing it, so I put it in as an afterthought. However, I do understand the tendency to overlook little details as you're reading a story so I thought I'd mention here that Hinata does send a message to Kankuro telling him the wish is not about Kiba. Thanks for all the comments I'm getting!**

Hinata was sure now that she was in love with Kankuro, not just crushing on him. For the first time in several weeks Hinata had gotten to see Naruto. She'd even eaten lunch with him, but she'd not felt a single twinge of longing as she had before she met Kankuro. It was crazy that one single puppeteer could make Hinata forget all about her crush on Naruto. She sighed as she sat down in front of the computer, a puppeteer that was currently ignoring her.

Her computer turned on and Hinata went straight to her e-mail.

"Garbage, garbage, garbage, WTF? Garbage, junk mail, that's stupid, huh?" Hinata opened one of her e-mails. It read "You have a new message from Bishi Boy! on NinjaSpace." Kankuro! Hinata quickly exited her e-mail and went to see the message.

_Hey there! How are you doing Hina?_

_I read the survey thing you took, and I wanted to know something: Do you drink alcohol? And why did you throw up on the 6th!? Was you sick? Don't be sick Hina! SICK SUCKS._

_cough Okay, that's all I had. Feel free not to answer. By the by, have you seen __The Moon Princess__ yet? It's a really good movie and I've seen it four times now and I'm suggesting it to all my friends because I have no life. ._

_Kankuro_

Oops. Hinata had forgotten all about that stupid survey. She'd just been filling out whatever and yeah . . . At least she knew now that Kankuro was not totally ignoring her.

_On the rare occasion that any vodka is in the area, yes. The only thing rum is good for is setting things of fire. It's a really pretty blue when you set it on fire and it lasts for quite a while. And yes, I was sick. I spent the first four days of my vacation sick. It's a great way to spend vacation. _

_No, I never saw __The Moon Princess__. People in Kiri are obsessed with it. I don't think I've even seen previews for it, but w/e._

Hinata sent off the reply and waited. Soon enough another message came winging back to her.

_You should go see it, it's really good. And maybe that's why I like it so much, I'm such a Kiri-wannabe. XP_

_First four days of vacation? Dang. Where did you go for Vacation anyways?_

The Hyuuga heiress sighed, rolled her eyes, and typed out her reply. She'd stated earlier that her vacation had been to Kiri.

_Kiri_

She sent it off and searched out some interesting music. A ding signaled the arrival of a new message.

_KIRI RULES! Where all did you go?_

Hinata tapped out a few random places that she'd been before sending off the reply. She didn't really want to go into too much detail. She was getting really sleepy. When no messages came from Kankuro she logged off and tumbled into bed.

**Two Months Later**

Hinata was talking to one of the older Jounin behind the sign in table. She was wondering if Kankuro and the others from Suna had signed in yet.

"Nope, sorry," Kurenai said. She smiled gently at her former student.

Hinata had just started walking out when she saw several people she recognized from Suna advancing into the room.

A boy she really didn't like gave her a small wave. She returned it vaguely before fleeing the room. She'd been so excited to see Kankuro, but at the same time she was terrified. He already sort of knew that Hinata liked him. He'd practically guessed it several months back. Hinata wasn't ready to face him just yet.

Hinata felt the bench shift slightly as someone sat down next to her. She looked up to see Kankuro give her a small smile. He turned his attention back to one of the Jounin who was talking to the younger shinobi. Hinata smiled softly to herself as she turned away too.

The younger shinobi were release for a break and Hinata and Kankuro stood awkwardly near one another. Several other people began to gather around them. Everyone was chattering away about random things just to fill the time.

Kankuro glanced down at Hinata. "It's cool to see you again, Hina," he told her awkwardly as he gave her a light hug.

Hinata was sure her face would crack from holding back her huge grin. "Yeah," she managed to reply.

Everyone was called back to order by the Jounin who would be giving the lecture the younger shinobi had to listen to. Later they would get to participate in the more interesting aspects of the festival, but for now they just had to listen to lessons.

On one side of Hinata sat Kankuro and on her other side sat Katsumi, a kunoichi Hinata seldom got to see. Kankuro was sketching in his notebooks while Hinata watched. Then he began to write lightly on one corner of the paper:

"_Has your wish come true yet? Wasn't it I W K W R T I H L H F S Y A T H W L M B?"_

Hinata did not miss the large spaces he'd placed between each letter in her wish. She just took the pencil from him and wrote below the drawing just as lightly:

"_I don't know yet, but I hope so."_

Kankuro looked at her questioningly for a moment. His eyes roved over her face as though looking for some sign that would betray her thoughts.

Hinata dared not even swallow for fear any movement might give away her thoughts.

Kankuro turned away first and returned to sketching a person. Hinata watched in interest. The person resembled him.

The talk seemed to last forever, but when it finally ended and the guests from all over were assigned to the homes of Konoha ninja for the weekend. Long before the weekend had even begun, Hinata had arranged for Kankuro and Hiro, the younger brother of a friend of hers from Iwa, to stay in her family's home for the weekend. Both boys grabbed their gear and followed Hinata and her father, who was thankfully much nicer, through the streets of Konoha. They all laughed and chattered away about the mafia and cheese. Hinata's mother greeted them at the door. Hinabi was confined to her room for the weekend because she'd somehow managed to get sick.

At 10:45 the three slipped away from Hinata's parents and disappeared into the kitchen. Kankuro leaned against one counter while Hinata leaned against the sink. They started talking about music, the conversation was rather uneventful, though Hinata wouldn't know. Kankuro had stuffed his earphones into her ears and made her listen to a song.

Hinata hated to say good-night, but she said good-night to Hiro and Kankuro. Kankuro gave her a light hug and a smile before vanishing into the room prepared for him. Just having Kankuro near her again made Hinata smile as she slipped off to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a wonderful day, she could just tell.

**A/N: Sorry for the wait on this chapter, but some stuff has been going on with my life. I decided to write the rest of the weekend in a separate chapter.**


	6. The Flirting Wars

**Summary: Falling in love with your best friend is never a good thing to do, but when you're Hyuuga Hinata things seem to be even worse.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. **

**Pairings: KankHina.**

It was Saturday morning and Hinata was happy for the first time in weeks. Kankuro was sitting on one side of her and a guy she had once had a major crush on was sitting on the other side of her. Strangely enough, both boys were named Kankuro. It struck her as odd that both of the guys she had liked at some point or another shared a name and homeland in Suna. Her Kankuro was leaning back against the back of his seat with his arms crossed loosely over his stomach. The other Kankuro was resting his elbows on his knees, half asleep. Hinata was trying to look like she was paying attention to the speaker up front. She half wondered why Konoha was calling this a festival when so far all they'd done was sit through seminars.

To pass the time Hinata began to play with her name tag. Her entertainment consisted of dragging the edge up and down the tops of her Kankuro's fingers.

He focused his brown eyes on the tag dancing over his fingers. Deftly, he caught the edge between his fingers, forcing Hinata to pull it hard away from him. A small smile appeared on his face. Then, all too soon, he stopped reacting to Hinata's teasing.

Hinata let out a huffy breath and transferred her attentions to the half asleep Kankuro on her other side. He was startled by the sudden attention he was receiving, but he reacted by grabbing the tag harder than his friend and pulled it out of Hinata's grasp. He returned her teasing by dragging it up and down her forearm.

The two wrestled a bit over the tag before Hinata managed to wrench it from his grasp.

She settled back against the seat and once again dragged it up and down her Kankuro's arm. He shifted slightly to his right so he was closer to Hinata. His large, warm hand settled comfortable on her left forearm. Hinata raised her eyes to meet his. He gave her a small smile.

It was sudden, but the seat shifted again as the other Kankuro scooted even closer to her. His hand settled on Hinata's right arm. Hinata looked back and forth between the two, startled. The two Kankuros were staring each other down. For a brief moment, the Hyuuga heiress felt a bit frightened. The tension had grown to a tangible level by the time the seminar ended for lunch. Both Kankuros immediately released Hinata's arms and stood up.

Hinata joined Katsumi in a small stairwell just before lunch.

"Are you okay?" Katsumi asked her friend. "I saw those two move closer to you and thought they were going to squish you! Did you see the looks they gave each other?"

Hinata shook her head to clear it. "What happened?"

"You were flirting with both Kankuros at the same time." Katsumi told her in disbelief.

"I was . . . flirting? I seriously didn't know." Hinata sank to the stairs. She acted that way with all her guy friends. She liked to hang out with them and tease them. Did they realize she was flirting even when she didn't realize it herself? This whole thing was new to her.

Due to a weird seating arrangement, Hinata ended up sitting by herself for lunch. She was glad; it gave her time to think everything over. It didn't take her long to realize she wasn't hungry. Instead of eating she slipped outside and walked to the nearest playground. Sitting on swings was always a good way to sort through thoughts.

It was colder than she'd expected, but the pale-eyed girl ignored the cold as she sat on the swing. Did both Kankuros have some sort of feelings for her? It was so confusing to her. Her Kankuro was always perfectly nice to her, but this was the first time in years the other Kankuro had even been remotely nice to her or acted like he was interested in her.

**30 minutes later**

Hinata gave up trying to sort through her thoughts and trudged back to the main building. From up a flight of stairs she could hear Katsumi and both Kankuros. She wandered quietly up the stairs just in time to see her Kankuro and Katsumi poke the other Kankuro in the sides and watched him fall to the ground. The other two laughed.

"I didn't know you were ticklish, Kankuro," Hinata's Kankuro teased. The other Kankuro made a face at him and got to his feet. No one had yet noticed Hinata standing there, watching them.

She slipped up the stairs and poked Kankuro in the sides again. He squirmed.

"Kat—" he gasped before seeing Hinata. She grinned devilishly at him.

"So is this Kankuro ticklish, too?" she asked as she and Kankuro attacked her Kankuro. Her Kankuro just looked at her with a slightly bemused look on.

"Darn," she muttered. "You're not."

He shook his head. Just then the other Kankuro brushed Hinata's bare arm.

"Holy crap, Hina!" he exclaimed. "You're freezing! Do you want my jacket?" Hinata blushed lightly and shook her head, but before she could pull away Kankuro had caught hold of one of her hands. Without wasting any time he wrapped his much larger hands around hers, trying to warm them.

"Kankuro," he told the other boy. "Grab her other hand! They're freezing." Something passed between the two boys. A bell summoned everyone back to the meeting hall before either could say anything else.

Kankuro held Hinata's hand a moment longer before preceding her down the stairs.

Hinata arrived at their seats to find her Kankuro hunched over his knees, holding his head. He looked miserable. She didn't know why and was slightly confused about his sudden mood changes. She settled on the seat beside him and hesitantly began to scratch his back.

Kankuro momentarily looked up at her with a puzzled look on, but returned to his previous position when he realized who it was. Hinata pulled back her hand after a moment longer.

"That felt good," Kankuro said in a very muffled voice. "Keep going."

The girl smiled and returned to her gentle ministrations until the next seminar started.

Hinata was once again settled between the Kankuros. She tried very hard not to flirt with either of them, but she just couldn't help playing with her Kankuro's mood ring.

"Hey, Kankuro!" the other Kankuro hissed. "Your mood ring's pink. Any particular reason?"

Hinata's Kankuro said nothing, but removed his hand from sight. Hinata slumped back against the seat with a soft sigh. Her hands were still freezing cold for whatever reason. She rested her hands on the seat on either side of her and played with the rough fabric.

A gentle nudge broke into Hinata's dozing. She looked down at her left hand. Her Kankuro's hand was resting beside hers, their little fingers just touching. She wondered if he knew what he was doing. Slowly she slipped one finger beneath his hand, his crept slowly over hers until they rested completely on top of one another. His hand closed gently around hers and pulled it closer to him. His other hand slipped beneath hers.

"Your hands are still freezing," he whispered softly. Hinata smiled almost embarrassedly. He began rubbing his hands in gentle circles to warm hers up.

When the seminar ended for the day neither noticed because they were too busy watching each other.


	7. Revelations and Changes

**Summary: Falling in love with your best friend is never a good thing to do, but when you're Hyuuga Hinata things are even worse. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters.**

**Pairings: KankHina.**

Hinata sped around the ice rink laughing and joking with Kankuro. He was teasing her about falling down so often. Off to one side, Hinata could see her Kankuro lacing his skates up slowly.

She skated off to join him.

"Hurry up, slow poke," she teased as she sat down beside him.

He looked up at her, his brown eyes utterly unreadable.

"I'm not very good at this skating thing," he muttered. Hinata just gave a small laugh.

"That's okay. I'm pretty bad myself," she assured him. The Hyuuga stood shakily on her own ice skates and began to make her way back out onto the ice. She started off in a quick circuit of the rink. Occasionally she teased the other Kankuro again, but she continuously kept an eye on her Kankuro. He was too busy concentrating on his own feet to see her smiling at him.

Sometimes she would catch up to him after a fast circle and chat with him for a few minutes before pulling off at her own speed.

Not even 30 minutes had passed when her Kankuro drifted over to the outside and stopped skating. He sat down on a bench and began to unlace his skates. Hinata's brow furrowed.

Kankuro returned to the ice, this time with just his shoes to join the game for non-skaters at one end of the ice.

Hinata just continued to glide around the ice, but stopped short when she heard her name being called. She turned to see Kankuro slipping and sliding towards her on the ice.

"Hey, Hina," he said breathlessly.

"Yes?"

He stood there for a second, just staring down at her.

"Katsumi and I are going to go grab some coffee," he paused.

Hinata held her breath. Would he ask her to come with?

"Would you just call me when you're ready to go home?" he asked finally.

"Oh," she said. "Sure."

"Great! Thanks, Hina!" He smiled at her before slipping off the ice to join Katsumi.

**30 Minutes Later**

Hinata glanced over at the clock as she pulled off her skates. Where were they? Her mom was leaning against the wall, talking to one of the other parents who had decided to come.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Kankuro's number. It rang and rang before it was finally answered.

"Hello?"

"Kankuro, my mom's here," Hinata told him.

"Oh, well, we just got here. We'll be there soon," he told her and hung up.

Hinata stared numbly at the phone in her hand. What had just happened? She called back ten minutes later, she couldn't keep stalling. No one answered the phone. She tried 6 more times with the same results.

It was nearly twenty minutes before Kankuro and Katsumi arrived. Hinata refused to speak to either of them and just started walking home. She was hurt.

Kankuro didn't say anything as he got when they got back to the Hyuuga residence. He just went off to bed. Hinata did the same.

**The Next Morning**

Hinata sat awkwardly at the table with her family and two friends as her father tried to hold a conversation across the table with Kankuro. The attempt failed miserably. Hinata still didn't dare look at Kankuro and went silently to work clearing away the empty breakfast dishes.

A pair of familiar hands appeared in her line of sight, helping her. She straightened to stare at Kankuro. For a moment they just stood there, looking at each other. They broke eye contact abruptly and Hinata watched as Kankuro went to get his pack. Today he would be going home.

**Two Hours Later**

Hinata herded the last of the young ninja students out of the classroom and into the main hall for the conclusion of the events. Neither Kankuro had seen her since breakfast, and, as she came up the stairs, she ran into them both.

"Wow, Hina," Kankuro breathed, "You look amazing."

"Thanks," she whispered, blushing. She glanced at her Kankuro. He just gave her a small smile.

The three of them headed towards the place they had been sitting throughout the event. Her Kankuro urged her to sit on the bench first, but she shook her head.

"I'm fine sitting on the outside," she insisted, waving both Kankuros onto the bench. She settled down beside the first Kankuro. She wondered if maybe she was being ridiculous about something so unimportant as a brushed off phone call. Before she could say anything to her Kankuro, the final lecture began.

Hinata was careful to keep her hands to herself today. She didn't want a repeat of yesterday.

The lecture ended. Katsumi caught Hinata before she could talk to either of the Kankuros. When she next got the chance to look around, her Kankuro had vanished.

Outside of the building, Hinata caught sight of Kankuro going around a corner. She ran to catch up.

"Hey," she said quietly as she fell into step beside him. He looked down at her.

"I'm sorry about last night," he apologized.

"Don't worry about it," she answered, waving a hand. Kankuro paused on the sidewalk and just stood looking at her for a long moment. He seemed ready to say something. Hinata held her breath, hoping that he might feel something for her. Instead they were interrupted by the rest of the Suna nin.

Kankuro gave her a tight hug. Hinata's throat tightened as she fought back tears. It wasn't fair. She only just had him to herself and he had to leave. She waved until they were out of sight, blinking back tears.

**Later That Night**

Hinata stared at her computer screen. She was posting a new wish.

"_I W I C B M L A," _she posted. _I wish I could begin my life again._ Maybe if she did, she wouldn't make such a stupid mistake as falling in love with her best guy friend. Her eyes glazed over as she sat lost in thought.

A ding jerked her back into the present. A message from Kankuro. Hinata's heart leapt as she saw his screen name appear in her inbox.

"_What is this wish? Any hints?" _Kankuro asked.

"_I don't believe you've even guess my last wish,"_ Hinata replied.

"_I wish Kankuro realize that I have had a major crush on him for several years and he liked me back." _Kankuro said nothing else in the message. Hinata felt her body go cold and the hair raise on the back of her neck. He knew. Why hadn't he said something while he'd been in Konoha?

Things couldn't get any worse she figured, she might as well throw everything out in the open for him to see. Nothing good could come from pretending she didn't really care. So she spilled everything out to him.

There was no answer that night or the next morning when she awoke. Hinata's heart was heavy as she trudged through her day. Kankuro had said nothing to her. She had never meant to lose him. He meant the world to her.

A message was waiting for her when she arrived home from a brief mission. Kankuro had responded.

"_I know at one point you had feelings for the other Kankuro, and I wasn't sure how deep those feelings went. I didn't want to make a move until I knew for sure. A part of me wants to be with you, but a part of me says that any move I make will get us both hurt. Unfortunately that is the part I listen to. I really like you, Hina, and I don't want to hurt you," _Kankuro wrote in his reply. _"I may not always like you, but I will always love you." _

Hinata's breath caught in her throat. He felt some of what she did! Her heart sang as she read the message over and over. The part that she didn't understand was the last line. How could you love someone, but not like them? That made no sense to her. But for the moment, she shrugged the question off. She was happy.

Four months rushed by in a flurry of dramatic moments. Separated by a large expanse of land, Hinata didn't get to see Kankuro for some time. As insecure as she was, Hinata went through moments of extreme elation and moments of extreme pessimism. Kankuro referred to her as "his Hina-baby" whenever he asked how she was doing. He was officially "her Kankuro." They spoke every day. Her messages woke him up and his bid her good night. They talked about everything. Hinata planned to transfer to Suna earlier than most of her teammates would even become Chuunin. Together, she and Kankuro would settle down and raise a family. They planned out jobs and dream homes.

Then came the best part, Kankuro was returning to Konoha for a puppet master competition. His battle was not until late in the day, but Hinata set aside her entire day just to see him. Kankuro introduced her to his friends, but he didn't say anything more than her name. He was quiet throughout the tournament, conversing mostly with his Suna companions. Hinata was confused by his strange behavior.

She cheered for him even though she never cheered for anyone at anything. He lost.

As everyone was packing their puppets away, Kankuro and Hinata stood quietly to one side talking.

"Are you going to be okay?" Kankuro asked, referring to Hinata's minor depressive episodes.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she assured him with a small smile.

"Hey, Kankuro!" one of the Suna boys interrupted, appearing beside them. "Is this the girlfriend you're always talking to?"

Hinata felt excitement rising inside. Girlfriend? Had Kankuro really referred to her as his girlfriend? She looked up at the boy's face. He was staring impassively at his friend.

"I guess that was a bad question," the other boy muttered as he backed away. Kankuro didn't even look at Hinata. He gave her a quick hug and then mumbled an excuse about a sick friend he needed to help pack up.

"Kankuro!" Hinata called, catching his arm. "Are you going to be in Iwa next month, for their gathering?"

"Yeah, sure," he replied.

"Promise?"

"I promise," he told her. A gave her another quick hug before disappearing from the arena. After a moment, Hinata followed after him. She stepped out into the cold wind. Snow swirled around her as she watched Kankuro walk away with his friends from Suna. A few tears slipped from her eyes.

"I'm not okay," she whispered after him. Her heart was breaking. What was she to him? She'd thought after everything that had passed between them during the previous four months that something might have happened today. Instead, Hinata felt like a canyon had been placed between them.

**A/N: I know I said this story was discontinued, but I couldn't leave it alone. So I'm going to try and finish it in the next month. **


	8. The Reality of a Love Story Gone Wrong

**Summary: Falling in love with your best friend is never a good thing to do, but when you're Hyuuga Hinata things are even worse. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters.**

**Pairings: KankHina.**

**Song to consider: "Avalanche" by Marie Digby**

Hinata slumped miserably in her seat in an auditorium room in Iwa. Her throat burned as it had been for the past three days, her ears ached, and her chest hurt. She was sitting by herself. That was probably for the best. Right now she had no voice with which to communicate. A violent illness had stolen her voice. She'd thought the illness had receded when she'd woken up feeling fine after three days of sick leave. However, it was now back in full force bringing with it a few nasty friends.

The Kankuro she'd once had a crush on was here, but not her Kankuro. The one Kankuro had said something to her about a show and party the other boy had not wanted to miss. Hinata had no idea what was really going on. All she knew was this: Kankuro had not spoken to her for well over two weeks. In fact, in the six weeks or so since the puppet tournament, he hadn't spoken (or written) more than three words to her. Now he'd broken his promise to her and hadn't even deigned to let her know. On top of that, his NinjaSpace had mysteriously been deleted the same night he'd returned to Suna from Konoha. He'd stopped responding to her calls and e-mails as well.

Hinata spotted Temari and managed to mime a message with the occasional croaked word.

"Where is Kankuro?" she asked as best she could.

"Oh, he made plans not to be here," the other girl answered. She carefully avoided eye contact with Hinata as she hurried off to find her friends. Hinata was left standing, her heart throbbing with pain. Kankuro had made plans not to be in Iwa? After he'd promised her he would be there?

Hinata 's hands clenched tightly at her sides. If that was how he was going to play the game, then she would return the serve the only way she knew how. Hopefully he still cared enough to notice that she wasn't speaking to him.

For two months, Hinata refused to text Kankuro. Yet every time she saw a picture of him, tears stung her eyes as she thought about what had suddenly ended. A new social site became the popular thing among her friends during this time: NinjaBook. Reluctantly, Hinata created an account. Less than a month after her account was created, she found a message in her inbox from Kankuro.

"_Hey, Hina!" _he wrote, _"I never check the 'Nin you might know' box, but today I did and I found you! How have you been?"_

Hinata stared at the message. Three months of nothing and then suddenly this! She cautiously accepted his friend request. He still would not respond to her texts in more than three words, but at least he responded to them.

Over the course of six months Kankuro had three girlfriends that ranked high enough to be introduced to his friends as such. Hinata's heart broke as the last one was a friend of hers. What was even worse was the conversation she caught between Kankuro and a mutual friend.

"_Whatever happened to you and Kisa?" _the friend asked.

"_She and I just weren't working out. I had to tell her. It wasn't fair to be leading her on when I knew it was going to go nowhere. She deserved to be told at the very least," _Kankuro answered.

His words angered Hinata. He'd told Kisa that he no longer returned her feelings and said SHE deserved to be told and not lead on. What about Hinata? She'd been waiting for him since she'd met him years before. She'd been the one he'd planned a life with. Or was he in the habit of planning out his life with every girl he felt a twinge of longing for?

Hinata punched her wall hard enough that the plaster and wood cracked beneath the blow. Her anger burned itself out quickly and she found herself slumped against her bedroom wall crying as she hadn't cried in months.

After that discovery, every conversation between the two was testy and full of harsh comments. No conversation was civil between them. Hinata would fly into a rage every time Kankuro referred to her as Hina-baby. What right did he think he have to call her that? He knew how much she loved him. He was the one who decided it would be a good idea to take the heart she had so willingly handed him and rip it to pieces before grinding it into the dirt.

It was over a year before they met face-to-face once again. Iwa was once again hosting a gathering of young nin within their borders. This time Kankuro arrived to join the activities late on the second day.

Hinata was sitting on the opposite side of the auditorium from him. When they were released for private meditation, Hinata attempted to slip out ahead of him, hopping he wouldn't see her. One of the mentors, however, caught her before she could get to the door. He wanted to talk to her about a letter she'd written him with questions about a technique she was developing. Before he'd finished speaking, Kankuro had spotted Hinata and blocked her escape route.

Hinata attempted to slip out past him, but Kankuro reached out and affectionately ruffled her hair. Something inside Hinata snapped at the familiar gesture.

"Don't touch me," she snarled, stalking off.

". . . bye, then," Kankuro murmured, sounding saddened and disappointed.

Needless to say, Hinata's meditation session was not relaxing, nor did it do anything to help her focus.

After the allotted 30 minutes, the young ninjas re-gathered in the auditorium. Hinata caught up with Kankuro.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, glancing quickly up at his face before taking her seat. Kankuro stood standing for a moment, simply looking at her, his face unreadable.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked softly, appearing beside her. Hinata patted the seat in response. For the next hour they sat awkwardly next to each other.

"I'm sorry for being such a jerk," Kankuro apologized once the session was over. He pulled Hinata into a gentle hug. Hinata closed her eyes against the tears she could feel welling up. She wanted so much for things to be like they had once been. But that was impossible.

"You're fine, I'm a little crazy," she told him. Hinata gave him a smile and left. She couldn't bear to be caught up in that again. She loved him. He was always on her mind, but she couldn't have him. She would just have to learn to accept that. Without looking back, Hinata started for Konoha with the rest of her group.

**Six Months Later**

Hinata found herself seated across a table from her Kankuro, drinking coffee. He had come to support her as she was attempting to join ANBU. He'd already applied and begun training for Suna's ANBU.

"You'll do amazing," he assured her as she played nervously with her cup. "You've already passed the written exam. Now you've just got to pass the physical exam."

"Do you really think so?" she asked, looking up hopefully.

"Definitely," he answered with a grin.

The two of them sat and talked for hours about everything and nothing. Hinata was careful to keep the conversation away from the past they'd shared. She still wanted nothing more than to be his girl again. She would give up everything if he would just ask it of her, but he wasn't going to ask and she knew it. In one of their argument/apology sessions, they'd gone over that briefly. She was not going to bring up old history. That would only ruin the moment. For now, she was content to just be with him.

**One Year Later**

Hinata was nervous. She was to be inducted as a member of ANBU the next month. Her life had changed so much. She looked back over the last few years with a sad smile. There was still a gaping hole in her heart that Kankuro had left. Over the years he'd helped her pick up a few of the pieces, but there were some that she could never retrieve.

In a fit of anger only a few weeks after she'd last seen Kankuro, Hinata had deleted his phone number, his pictures, and removed him from every contact list he was on. The reason? He'd begun dating a girl that lived ten times further from him than she did. Part of his reason for never dating Hinata had been that she lived too far away to be a part of his life for any length of time. Instead he'd dated a girl much further away that he'd only known online for much less time than he'd known Hinata in person.

It had been along time since she'd had anything to do with him. She did her best to utterly ignore him, but that was hard when so many of their friends overlapped. Through those brief moments of overlap, Hinata knew that Kankuro had found success and, as far as Hinata knew, happiness in Suna's ANBU.

The only reason Hinata was thinking about him now was because of a dream she'd had. She could still feel his arms as they enveloped her in a tight hug. She could still smell his soap as if he was right beside her. The dream haunted her. Nothing could have erased the memories. Hinata had briefly dated Kiba, but that had been short-lived as both quickly discovered they were better friends than anything else.

It had taken a long time, but Hinata now understood the comment Kankuro had made nearly three years before. _"I may not always like you, but I will always love you."_

Hinata knew exactly what he meant now. She hated him for breaking her heart, for drawing her in, and for being so attractive. Yet, she loved him more than words could describe. For a year they had not even spoken, yet she prayed everyday that he was safe and unharmed. Her pride refused to allow her to speak to him, but her heart still wanted what they'd once had.

No matter what happened, no matter what issues came between them, Hinata would always love Kankuro.

**A/N: This story is finished. It was hurriedly written as I leave next month for BMT for the United States Air Force. For those of you who are actually reading this part, I have a feeling a few of you know what this story actually it. For those of you that are clueless, just think about it. It will all make sense. Thanks for reading. This desperately needed to be written to its completion. Feel free to PM me with questions and such.**


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